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Neo Lox PB 18 passes Wunstorf on February 27th, 2026. Picture by Thomas Wohlfarth.
Bottrop-based Neo Lox GmbH has hired two Class 66 locomotives from Beacon. It concerns locos 92 80 1266 067-8 D-BRLL (ex-RheinCargo DE67) and PB 18. The locomotives reinforce the operator's fleet, which further exists of BR 225, V60-Ost and V100-Ost locomotives.
Loco 59003, the sole representative of its type in the GBRf fleet, has been offered for sale. The picture shows the loco at Bardon Hill on September 5th, 2016. Picture by Ian Kinnear.
With the new fleet of 30 dual-mode Class 99 locomotives under delivery (locos 99001-99006 are now in the UK), GB Railfreight has set plans in motion to rationalize its locomotive fleet. The fleet exists for the largest part of Class 66 locomotives, but there are some smaller sub-fleets that have had their future within the business examined. As a result, GBRf has now outlined its plans to sell a portion of its fleet to interested parties. This includes the offering for sale of:
- 3x Class 08/09 (08925, 08934, 09002)
- 3x Class 47 (47727, 47739, 47747)
- 1x Class 59 (59003)
- 10x Class 60 (60002, 60021, 60026, 60047, 60056, 60076, 60085, 60087, 60095, 60096).
Note that GBRf has recently bought back the 10 Class 60 locomotives from Beacon in light of the planned sale. Spare part donors 60004, 60014 and 60018 are currently not listed as for sale.
Hrochostroj has taken delivery of its second EffiShunter 1000 locomotive: Hrochostroj 744 181-9. On 20 February 2026, it was named Jasmína at the CZ LOKO works in Jihlava, after the daughters of two shareholders in the company. The loco joins sister locomotive 744 161-1, which was delivered to Hrochostroj in 2024.
Italy's Salcef has ordered three more type 741.7 locomotives from CZ LOKO. The first of the three additional locos arrived in Italy in February 2026 and carries the number 741 783-5. The other two locomotives are expected to be delivered to Salcef by March 2026.
CZ LOKO has reached an impressive milestone with the completion of EffiShunter 1000 locomotive no. 100. The loco in question was 744 196-7 for Trainpoint Norway,
Europorte 4006 at the Erion France workshop in Montceau-Les-Mines on 16.02.2026. Picture by Erion France.
After more than a year of intensive repairs, Europorte 4006 has been released to service again by Erion France following an accident at Antwerpen Noord in August 2024. Luck is definitely not on this loco's side. It had already been repaired before by Erion France in the period 2021-2023 following an accident between Rumigny and Liart in France on 16.06.2021.
CLF 741 750-4 on its way to Italy at Breclav on September 29th, 2021. Picture by Jaromar Kozinka.
FERRENT S.r.l., part of Strukton Rail Italy S.r.l., has ordered an additional 8 type 741.7 locomotives from CZ LOKO. The order will see the fleet increase to 20 locomotives with 4 to be delivered in 2026 and 4 in 2027. The locos are expected to come in the livery of fellow Strukton Rail Italy companies CLF and Uniferr.
Artist impression by Stadler Rail.
Stadler has added another Turkish order to its books. While previous orders concerned EURO DUAL locomotives, this time it is the EURO 4001 that will be delivered. The type is currently not yet represented on Turkish rails, but this will change thanks to an order for 35 locomotives by TCDD Tasimacilik. The TCDD EURO 4001s will naturally meet TSI requirements and Stage V emission norms, and will feature both ETCS Level 2 and the Turkish ATS system.
On lease from Eversholt Rail, Freightliner 66563 passes King's Sutton with an intermodal train on August 18th, 2022. Picture by Henk Zwoferink.
Beacon has grown it leasing business even further by completing the acquisition of Eversholt Rail. The move sees the Beacon business grow substantially once again in both the freight and passenger segments.
Adam Cunliffe, CEO of Beacon, commented: "This acquisition represents a powerful step forward for our business and for the customers we serve. By bringing Eversholt Rail into Beacon, we are creating a stronger, more capable organisation equipped to support the long?term growth of sustainable rail transport across Europe. I'm enormously proud of what both teams have achieved to reach this point and excited about what we will deliver together."
DB Cargo 077 033-4 passes Oberhausen, Abzweig Mathilde with a heavy train on August 16th, 2024. Picture by Rolf Alberts.
All 60 JT42CWRM locos of DB Cargo AG were sold to Beacon Rail Leasing through a sale and leaseback agreement effective 01.12.2025. The locos in question were originally ordered for and delivered to Euro Cargo Rail from France, which now operates as DB Cargo France. In several batches, the locos were sold to DB Cargo AG. The deal significantly increases the number of JT42CWR(M) locos in the Beacon Rail fleet.
Picture: DB Cargo UK.
On January 19th, 2026, DB Cargo UK announced the sale of 25 Class 66 locomotives to Romanian railfreight operator Grup Ferroviar Roman. The locos are surplus to requirement in the UK and were therefore offered for sale by the British company.
DB Cargo UK shared an image showing the first loco (66014) in a blue livery at its Toton depot in Nottinghamshire. All locos will be brought up to operational standards if required and painted in blue before leaving the UK. 66014 is expected to leave the UK before the end of the month. The final deliveries are scheduled to take place by mid-2028.
Many thanks to you, dear readers and contributors, for your support and input in 2025. Happy New Year and cheers to 2026!
In the last month of 2025, CTV 2016 750-3 could be seen running for Czech operator Metrans Rail in Germany covering 'Elbtal Umleiter' duties. Normally, the loco operates in Romania only, so the short trip abroad was a remarkable sight.
